Yearly Archives: 2012

U.S. Senators are again looking at crafting a law that creates a national standard for reporting data breaches. Referred to as the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2012 (S.3333), the draft bill would require businesses and government agencies to “take reasonable measures to protect and secure data in electronic form containing personal information.” The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the legislation, and fines for violating the law could reach up to $500,000 per incident.

There are currently 40 different state laws in place. This bill would override any existing state data breach legislation. Implementing a single law could simplify compliance and make for a more consistent notification process in the event of a breach.

What’s New at TrustCommerce? A Lot!

It is midway through what is shaping up to be another big year for Trust. As always, we are focused on advancing our TC SMART Products, specifically in the area of E2E/P2P encryption and tokenization. It’s fun to pioneer new innovative offerings, better to improve upon those innovations, and even more rewarding to offer the best in the industry.

You already know we’ve completed our migration to the new TC Vault! Throughout this transition, we’ve implemented many functional improvements. This new interface provides a foundation for rapid customization and enhancement. Built and designed from a customer-centric perspective, it maintains this core value from login to log-out. From the outpouring of positive responses we’ve received, we are thrilled our merchants love the new TC Vault as much as we do.

PayWithIt is the TrustCommerce secure mobile payment solution that works with mobile digital devices in conjunction with your TrustCommerce payment gateway account. Businesses, both large and small, can securely and wirelessly capture payments via manual entry or an optional encrypted card swipe without incurring additional mobile transaction fees.
PayWithIt is a natural fit for a variety of environments, most notably, the non-profit sector. Charitable giving is often in response to an immediate need, such as a natural disaster or other crisis. Accepting payments with a mobile device, gives charities the flexibility to respond quickly to help those in need.

TSYS Merchant Solutions is a top 10 payment processor with over 55 years experience in the payment acceptance industry. From card terminals to healthcare payment processing, TSYS products provide outstanding payment solutions for businesses. TSYS Merchant Solutions was also ranked as the 10th largest merchant acquirer in the U.S. by dollar volume in 2011 by The Nilson Report.

How can merchants address the threat of a payment data compromise?

Credit and debit cards have rapidly become the preferred payment method across the globe. We all swipe our credit cards at the check-out counter and enter our credit card numbers into e-commerce websites, usually with little thought to where the data ends up. But there are people waiting on the other end of that transaction ready to capture payment data and use it fraudulently.

Network intrusions and data compromises continue to plague the payment card industry. At the 2012 RSA Annual Security Convention, RSAʼs Executive Chairman, Arthur Coviello, told the audience, “Our networks will be penetrated. We should no longer be surprised by this.” His statement came within months of the disclosure that RSA, one of the worldʼs largest and most respected security companies, had been breached and the code to SecureID, their two-factor authentication solution, stolen. Mr. Coviello then told the attendees, “The reality today is that we are in a race with our adversaries and right now, more often than not, they are winning.”

The insurance industry faces tremendous challenges when it comes to protecting customer data. Due to the nature of the business, a vast amount of sensitive information is collected about each customer. New stringent regulations demand that the data is kept secure, with steep penalties for non-compliance. Meanwhile, large databases of sensitive data are enticing targets for increasingly savvy hackers who can use that information for identity theft, fraudulent payments, and more. The consequences of a security breach are numerous and often devastating: lost customers, damaged brand and reputation, government fines, the cost of revising the information technology infrastructure, and a public relations crisis. How do you run a successful, PCI compliant insurance company without becoming a data security expert as well?

If you know a thing or two about TrustCommerce, you know that we live and breathe security. You also know that we are flexible. Accepting payments in a variety of ways, is critical to most merchants. Take for example your typical hospital system. They collect co-payments at the terminal prior to a doctor’s visit, allow patients to pay their bill at a kiosk in the lobby, accept payments via web-based patient portal, utilize Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR), and much more. It is common for Non-Profit organizations to accept one-time and recurring donations online and also collect donations at events and activities. TrustCommerce payment solutions make it easy to capture payments wherever your customers are utilizing the most convenient and effective method. To that end, we’ve added a new method to accept payments—via your mobile device. We are happy to introduce you to PayWithIt, the TrustCommerce secure mobile payment acceptance solution.

IRVINE, California, February 28, 2012 — TrustCommerce, provider of secure payment and risk management solutions, has launched PayWithItTM, a comprehensive mobile payment acceptance solution for merchants who would like to accept credit cards, signature debit cards, and ACH in the field. Available through popular mobile devices, merchants can securely and wirelessly capture payments manually or via encrypted card swipe using PayWithIt.

PayWithIt is ideal for environments where flexibility is key. Fundraisers, insurance agents, hospital ERs, transit authorities, distribution centers, trade shows, and countless others benefit from the convenience of adding mobile payment acceptance to their comprehensive payment system. Included with a TrustCommerce payment gateway account, PayWithIt allows merchants to leverage the full spectrum of TrustCommerce payment acceptance and reporting products at no additional cost.

TrustCommerce and E-Commerce Developers are a perfect match. We speak the same language, can finish each other’s sentences, and are just a phone call away. Our relationship is effortless because:

TrustCommerce payment solutions are developer friendly! Our solutions are designed for easy set up and flexibility—integrating into any solution. We accomplish this using open-source technology and our 19+ APIs. Once integrated with the TrustCommerce payment system, you can implement the solution to any number of merchants.

Zappos, online shoe and clothing retailer, is the latest merchant to succumb to a data breach. More than 24 million customer accounts were compromised, which may have included customer names, e-mail addresses, addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of credit card numbers and “cryptically scrambled” passwords. Zappos encrypts payment card data and said no credit or debit card information was accessed.

The recent Zappos breach has us all thinking about trust. We start to think about all the online sites in which we’ve placed our trust—accounts we’ve opened, where we’ve shopped and social networking sites where we disclose our lives, to name just a few. Many of us can’t remember them all; let alone the email or password we used. As we go about our daily lives, we repeatedly take leaps of faith. For convenience and opportunity, trust seems to be the only choice. However, there are some practical ways you can protect yourself.